The present invention relates to transportation systems and methods, and in particular to transportation systems and methods that allow people and material to be efficiently and cost-effectively removed from an area without roads or where roads are overused.
The present application has application to any activity that requires the transportation of material and people to and from locations that are not served by roads or where the roads are inadequate or overused. Activities where the present invention may be used include logging, mining, ski lifts, and/or public transportation. The present invention is of particular relevance in the context of logging activities, and that application of the present invention will be described herein in detail with the understanding that the scope of the present invention shall be defined by the claims appended hereto and not the following detailed discussion.
Logging activities often take place in remote, environmentally sensitive areas. For a variety of reasons, it may not be practical to construct an extensive network of roads in logging areas. When timber is harvested in areas not serviced by roads, the use of off-road ground vehicles to remove harvested timber is undesirable in many cases and in other cases may not be possible due to rough terrain.
Timber is often removed from remote logging areas using helicopters. Helicopters can effectively remove timber from logging areas even if the terrain is not navigable by ground vehicles, but the use of helicopters is expensive and thus not practical in many situations.
The need thus exists for relatively inexpensive transportation systems and methods and in particular for such systems and methods that allow the removal of loads from remote, inaccessible areas.
The following patents were uncovered as the result of a professional patentability search conducted on behalf of the Applicant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,713 to Cruciani illustrates a lifting means that is suspended on cross cables that are in turned suspended from two parallel cables. The cross cables support a load that is movable between the two parallel cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,055,673 to Smilie depicts a load carrying trolley that supported by cross cables between two parallel cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,708,912 to Alexander discloses a system adapted to drag material from a pile in which the material is disclosed. Parallel cables are arranged on either side of the pile. A scraper is connected to a cross support line that is pulled to move the scraper across the pile.
The present invention may be implemented in a transportation system comprising a near support line, a far support line, a cross support line, a far block for movably connecting the cross support line to the far support line, a near block for movably connecting the cross support line to the near support line, and a trolley assembly for traversing the cross support line. The load to be removed is carried by the trolley along the cross support line to a location that allows transportation along existing roads.
The system may optionally comprise a transfer track that allows the trolley to move between the cross support line and the near support line. The trolley may thus transport the load not only along the cross support line between the near and far support lines but to one end of the near support line.
The coupling block may be a double block through which the cross support line extends. The end of the cross support line opposite the far block can be pulled by a truck, reel, or other mechanism to move the coupling block and to reduce slack in the cross support line should the near and far support lines not be parallel. A system using a cross support line that extends through the coupling block may optionally comprise a snubber line connected to the near block to fix a location of the near block along the near support line.
The trolley may optionally comprises a structural assembly and first and second rollers that engage one of the support lines to suspend the structural assembly from the support line. Optionally, mounted on the structural assembly is an electric motor that powers one of the rollers to cause the trolley to move along the support line from which it is suspended. A hoist assembly may optionally be mounted on the structural assembly to allow the load to be raised and lowered relative to the trolley.
The load may optionally be containerized at the point of harvest. The container will be transported by the trolley and loaded on a truck to minimize handling of the load.